July 5, 2011

Bright and early

I woke up at 6 this morning to throw on some running clothes and shoes and be sitting on the porch when Jerry got home from work at 6:30. I wanted to get a 3-mile run in before it got too hot today. I love the 3-mile runs, because they seem so short and they go by fast. I actually brought my ipod with me today, which I normally don't do. I got to the point where listening to music or talk radio was more annoying while running than anything, so I started going without; and I got used to it.

A lot of people ask me about running with an ipod, because you'll notice that I'm not wearing one in any of my race photos. I know it's very common to listen to them during a race, but I actually find it a little rude. There are tons of spectators cheering on the runners, and I just feel like it would be insulting to have earphones in while they're cheering for me. Also, I love to listen to the sound of feet hitting the ground, and breathing, and I've overheard some seriously funny and/or ridiculous conversations while running races. But that said, I don't judge the people that DO use earphones.

After my run, I had to take the kids to their dentist appointment. I swear, the universe was making it very difficult for me to get there on time! About 2 minutes after we left, I realized I forgot my coffee sitting on the table at home--so of course I had to turn around to get it ;) Then we got stopped by a train just before we got on the expressway. We were cruising for about 5 miles when all traffic came to a complete stop. Awesome. We crawled along for about 20 minutes, and at the front, I was expecting a huge 10-car pile-up because they reduced everyone to driving on the shoulder--all 3 lanes were closed! When I got to the front, this is what I saw:

Nothing! Absolutely nothing except for a van and some cones, blocking the entire e-way! When we got to the exit we needed, it was closed for construction (of course) so we had to take a detour. And finally, we were stopped by another train. A 45 minute drive ended up taking an hour and 10 minutes or so.

After the appointment, we had to drive right by Sam's Club, so naturally I had to stop in there! My kids were dying for lunch, so I let them get pizza. And I drooled watched them eat it without getting anything myself :( Is it bad to give your kids slushees just minutes after getting their teeth cleaned? lol

I bought some of the usual crap: Fiber One bars, cheese, batteries, chocolate chips, nuts. I decided to check out the price of coffee there, because I noticed that the price of coffee has gone way up over the past couple of months. I told my husband yesterday that I was going to quit drinking coffee, because it costs more than my damn wine does. So I was checking out the coffee, and then it was like the heavens opened up and shined a brilliant light down while trumpets sounded... on THIS(!!!!), my friends:

MACKINAC FUCKING ISLAND FUDGE flavored coffee!! If there is seriously ONE reason that God chose to have me be born and raised in Michigan, it was for this reason alone: Michigan (particularly Mackinac Island) is known for their fudge! Someone at Paramount Coffee is completely brilliant, in my opinion, because I was completely sold when I saw that. Thankfully, it worked out to about $7/pound, which is about $5 cheaper than what my "regular" brand has become. So Eli nearly got a concussion when I threw that bag in the cart and headed for checkout.

I was already jittery from my coffee that morning, so I didn't try it yet. I will give the verdict tomorrow on how it tastes. Speaking of tomorrow, it's my Wednesday Weigh-In. And I must warn you, it's NOT going to be pretty. Probably horrifying, actually. I think I ate my weight in ice cream this week. If today was the day of reckoning, I would definitely be going to dieting hell. But I promise next week will be awesome!

Oh, and my internet has been going wacky the past few days. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The cable guy came today, and said he needs to send someone else tomorrow. So if you don't hear from me for a while, that's why. Grr.

Do you drink flavored coffee? What's your favorite? And how do you drink it? I like my coffee with 1 Tbsp. of coconut milk creamer (or 1/2 Tbsp. of half & half), and without sugar or sweetener. I'm totally fine having it black, too.

I'm not really a coffee drinker, but I went through a phase of loving blueberry coffee when I was in college. Sounds weird, but it's like drinking a hot muffin. Perfect during fall semester finals week!

I usually wear my iPod to races, but I'm working on weaning myself off of it. Because you're totally right, there's the crowds and the scenery and the whole experience to appreciate!

I used to listen to audiobooks while I walked/ran, but since moving to summer, most of my shorts don't have pockets that will hold my iphone well (not without trying to pull my shorts off anyway) so I've quit for the most part and found I enjoy doing it without the audio.

I love - LOVE - the way coffee smells, but I can't drink it. Not only does my body not process caffeine well (the last time I had a shot of expresso in a large milk shake, I literally didn't sleep for 48 hours), but I can't taste the coffee at all. My tastebuds have always been very, very sensitive, and if things I'm eating/drinking are too strong, I can't taste them at all. It's like sensory overload or something. Once, my grandma pulled out pickles that she had accidentally left pickling for 15 years. My cousins and I all ate them. They called them He-Man pickles, they were so sour. They tasted like water to me - it was weird. Anyway, that's what it's like with coffee. Unless it's diluted with a LOT of other things (like ice cream), I can't taste it at all. Which is probably a good thing, considering I can't handle caffeine at all.

Being a Canadian, I believe Tim Horton's coffee is just sex in a cup. I believe there are a few of them in the states, however I've tried coffee at one in Michigan and it was awful. Other than that, I use flavored coffee creamers, my fav is hazelnut, you can get low fat and fat free kinds and usually eliminates the need for sugar.

Katie, I started reading your blog after seeing your amazing and wonderful video on Sparkpeople. Not only are you an inspiration (please don't be intimidated by that - your genuine-ness and honesty are an important part of why you are inspiring!) but you are such a vivid and compelling (and funny!) writer. Many many thanks!

Katie--you're a star! Sparkpeople put up a note about your 125-lb. weight loss video on Facebook! It's a great video, I've watched it several times. Hope the weigh-in next week is better than tomorrow, cause I know what you're talking about!!! But I was good today!

SparkPeople.comShort on inspiration this week? Check out this amazing member video blog about her journey!Journey of 125 poundswww.sparkpeople.comI've been wanting to make a video like this since before I even lost the weight! I hope to inspire...

So, my favorite coffee is cinnamon vanilla. I used to turn my coffee into dessert by adding tons of sugar and flvored cream, yikes! These days I drink my coffee with nu-stevia and sugar free creamer. It was a tough change at first but now I like it that way. On another note, I have been catching up on your past blogs since I am new to your blog site. I read that you sometimes feel like a let down to people who are inspired by you. I wanted to tell you that to be honest, the fact that you struggle just like I do and you were still able to get healthy is exactly what inspires me about you. When I see "skinny" people who used to be fat I convince myself that it was easy for them, just a descision they made and I am too weak to be like them. The fact that you are so real makes me believe that I can do it too. I like cheering you on through your struggles and sharing in your triumphs. Thank you for you honesty! Don't get me wrong, it's not just your "flaws" that encourage me. You have worked your ass off, you crack me up, and most of the stuff you write seems like they came right out of my thoughts! I just think if you came across as perfect you wouldn't have the same impact as you do on those of us who follow your blogs. I hope you take that as a complement because it was totally meant to be. There have been days that I stuck with it because of being reminded by one of your blogs to stick with it and stand up for myself. : )

That coffee looks amazing! I love Mackinac Island Fudge! Where are you in MI? I went to college in Holland and have family all over the western side of the state.

I usually run with music on low, that way if I'm bored I can zone out and listen to music, but I can also hear spectators and talk to other runners if I want.

As for the treadmill, I can run on it for HOURS. I literally ran 20 miles on it in the winter just to see if I could. The key is good tv with no commercials. I use netflix instant and just zone out and watch trashy tv :).

I love flavored coffee, espically the Duncan Donuts strawberry shortcake. I do have a harder time drinking it in the summer though. I always have to run with music, if I don't have my ipod my workout usually sucks...it motivates me so much.

Excellent job on run! This line "Mackinac Island is known for their fudge" has made me begin planning a trip there. It was the tipper from being on the fence about making a LOOONG drive there. Is that wrong? LOL

I enjoy coffee but never made much of it at home. I usually only want a cup, maybe two so it seemed silly to make a pot for myself :) My husband recently bought me a Keurig and I loooove it! My favorite flavor so far is the cinnamon pastry. I also like the plain Colombian Free Trade K-Cup too! I drink my coffee black so it is a great zero calorie treat. I would love to try the Mackinac Island Fudge!

I'd love to hear from you! I read all of my comments, and if you have a question, I do my best to respond; sometimes, however, I get busy and forget to go back to reply, so if it's important, just email me! :) (I had to turn on comment moderation due to a ton of spam comments; but I will approve your comment asap!)

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